Left Behind
by Raigon
Summary: In roots, the mission is everything, and everything is the mission. So, what would happen if the mission was ...to die? Sai had been put into this position, and now, it's a race against time for his friends to save him. This is the sequel to No emotion.
1. Chapter 1

**Left Behind - **_Root Chronicles _

_Salvation, Mercy, Hope_

_Words told as fairy tales to the weak and stupid._

_There is no mercy, there is no salvation, and hope is a lie to oneself._

_Never believe in anything, but your own abilities._

_It is the only thing that will keep your alive._

_~An excerpt from the Roots Manuel page# 1_

It was over, roots were disbanded, but this time for good. Danzo-sama was dead, and that was a crushing blow that the organization couldn't recover from, or at least, that is what it seemed like to everyone else. Though Sai knew the truth, a man that could put together something like this within the very heart of a shinobi village and it goes un-noticed for years would have more things in places than his and his top two commander's death could bring to its end.

He would have a another plan in place.

Sai sat in the trees as he let the wind whip past him.

It had been so many years since he had first entered, and he had found his way out. He knew his brother would have been proud of that ...as he ran a hand through his hair. A reflex to comfort himself when he was alone, but he wouldn't be alone for long so he needed to stop that. He would press his back against the bulk of the tree's bark.

This tree ...it was marked with his first fight here in Konoha.

He remembered, it was the first time he had used his blood line technique, and one of the few times it had come out ...in the open. It had been before he knew better, as he closed his eyes, and then open them again to feel a presences that told him he wasn't alone. He would see her glaring at him, the familiar hatred was hollow now ..., but it still could be felt ...now that he knew what he was looking at. She would smile at him, the girl with the tiger color hair, ...the only other survival other than himself from the original roots.

"Tiger."

She had claim that name for herself at the end of everything.

"Dog."

That wasn't his name though, but, he knew better than to rise to the taunt. He would have never given it a second thought before he joined Team Seven.

"You came, I was sure, you had found your new home at the feet of that Tsunada-bitch too appealing to ever answer our call again. Or, that you would be too scared to face us."

The words were cold, and what could he expect. No one liked her, not a single one of the roots members ...for Danzo-sama hadn't like her either. So, it was nothing to be surprised about as he shook his head.

"I do ...follow the will of Konoha. I just choose not to be it's roots anymore ...feeling the sun is nice."

The girl ...no woman would have one eye twitch in her annoyance. She had never been good at masking her emotions, it was why she seldomn did anything that require her to be in the limelight of the organization. It was why, she was still underground to this day. She just didn't have the will to be emotionless, and even when her eyes were hollow and dead ...you could see the pit there. The void, and it wasn't simply an absences like what he had been able to create. It was obvious, that something was missing, and that it would eventually be fill with something.

"Traitor."

She spat.

"Never."

He would answer back before he thought of what she had just said.

"Really, still loyal? Good, we need you to kill some people in the leaf."

"Never."

The words cut off any more of her nonsense, as she went almost livid at the words.

"Then you aren't loyal to us then."

Sai sat back for a moment and shook his head.

"I have learned, loyalty doesn't mean blind. I will do anything for Roots, but, I will not do everything for Roots."

He would tell her as Tiger's eyes blaze.

"There is no difference."

Sai shook his head slowly.

"There is a big differences."

Tiger would smile lightly.

"No, there isn't ...not in Roots, and you know the price for abandoning us."

Sai knew. There was no mercy in roots, there was no abandonment, there was only one course, and the boy would go still. He had been aware this might be why he was called out. He had no fear of it ... he just hated he would leave so many behind. They would not be happy, and he thought to make some sort of request that wouldn't leave them feeling so hollow afterwards. But, this was roots, they will do things as ...they had decided. No request of his would be answered if it wasn't already in the plans, and thus, he knew he simply needed to accept everything.

He had done so many good things ...he would focus on them. Though he would still ask ...as he took a deep breathe.

"Will my death be that of a hero or that of a dog?"

It shouldn't be important, but he thought of his friends. He wanted them to mourn him ...not grieve for him. There was a time, he wouldn't have known the differences. He did now, and he was asking ...for them...as her eyes would pierce him.

"If I had my say, you would die like a dog. They would find your body in these woods ...your own kunai in your throat, and your glassy eyes staring at nothing. The mark of roots on your forehead."

Sai would look at her stupidly then. For roots left no marks, only death in their wakes, but, he wouldn't voice that. It would seem he had been deem worthy of the second option. He would die ...with dignity, and he really couldn't ask for more than that. Afterall, he had given so many a dog's death...he was getting better than them in this service.

"Straighten you affairs, you have been given two days ... do not make us regret this choice."

The boy would put one close fist into his palm. He would bow his head to her then as he replies back sternly.

"Hai."

Roots never left anyone behind ...while they breathed. Sai knew this, and did not regret.

(Chapter 1 - complete)


	2. Chapter 2

**Left Behind - **_Root Chronicles_

When visiting death ...look for the weak points

Children before Spouse

Spouse before sibling

Sibling before friend

Those who we choose to crush ...leave them no one to depend.

For, if it's too hard to break the body

the spirit should be crush first

Then the body will fall quickly afterwards.

This is the task of a true assassin, to kill their target, no matter the sin.

~An excerpt from the Roots Manuel page# 13

Sai had two days to live.

He wasn't sure what to do, but he wanted to make sure his friends ...knew what they meant to him and didn't regret his lost too much. So, he sat alone, and tried to figure out how best to do this ...as he would raise one hand to cover his face.

They were so happy now ...they were three once more...they would quickly get over this.

The thought made him feel sad a bit, but he crushed it easily.

He didn't have time to be sad ...he needed to use this time to think ...of how to say good bye.

He was deep in thought ...when a shadow fell across him.

"Sai! There you are we have been looking all over for you."

He looked down at him with actual relief in his eyes. It was strange to see it there, but, Sai wouldn't question it either. It made him feel a bit better about what was going to happen next, and he prepared to speak the words he had been concentration on for the past few hours.

"Naruto-kun."

"Oba-san called us to Hokage Tower. She has a mission for us."

Sai couldn't help the thought.

His last.

"Hai, let's go."

Sai would tell him as they both vanish from the spot together. They were fast now ...so much faster than they had been when they first met. They had grown stronger together, and Sai couldn't help wondering how much stronger Naruto would become once he was gone.

How much stronger they all would become ...he wanted to become stronger still.

But once your life is over, ...everything stops.

He would never see where their bond of friendship will lead them nor take any more part in it.

He would regret that.

He couldn't say he would miss...the dead miss nothing. It is the living that had all the pain.

It didn't take long to arrive at the office, and it was habit that had him down on one knee in front of her with his fist in his palm. It was a bow, but he normally only did that for Danzou-sama, it wasn't required here. He knew, and should have remember that, but he had so much on his mind. It was only her intake of breathe, and the surprise look on Sakura's and Naruto's face that made him recognize his mistake.

Sasuke-kun wouldn't be here yet.

He was still under probation for another 20 days.

It would take that long to forget him ...it was acceptable.

"Sai, are you alright?"

Sakura would asks as he got back to his feet, and stood normally.

"Hai."

Though there was a look of fear and worry on their faces that wasn't there before. Even with that answer as Tsunade-sama would share that look for a moment.

"There is a reason I called you three here today ...it has been happening for the last 3 days, members of roots, ex-members have been dropping like flies. We have had 10 killed ...in the last few days, and not all of them were on missions. There is reason to believe that with the village now experiencing peaceful days that a command has been issued to former root members to terminate their lives."

All eyes would fall on him then, and Tsunade-sama would say in a serious tone.

"I don't care what Danzou have taught you ...that is unacceptable to us. All shinobi's lives belong to me, and to this village. I won't accept them being stolen away ...by a dead man or his wishes."

"Do you hear me Sai."

This was directed at him, as Sai smiled lightly.

It made things easier ...they knew.

"No, Hokage-sama."

That would stop her cold, and the looks the other two gave him. It turned his stomach, but he said it anyway.

"My life doesn't belong to you ...I am not a shinobi of this village. Though I wish I was ...I belong to roots, and my usefulness is decided by him ...and by them. "

He couldn't look them in the eye. His would simply look past her shoulder ...into the endless blue sky.

"Danzou-sama is gone ...I shall follow him ...in two days time."

Sai never saw it coming, he should have. But then again, he was concentrating on the blue sky ...so as not to allow his emotions to take over. He needed to repress them, so he wouldn't crack in the end, and so, ... the fist caught him by surprise. The fist connected against the side of his face and sent him on off his feet onto his side.

He had been hit plenty of times by Sakura-chan, but it was rare when Naruto gets a good one in.

"You bastard ...what had we been fighting for? You think it was so that we would continue the same pains of the past ...to watch friends die for nothing. No, it's to develop a new future. I thought you understood that!"

He screamed at him, Naruto, the emotional one.

"I do, but to start a new future ...there are certain things of the past that must be buried. I am one of them."

There was no regret there, when he said it. Sai had done a good job to cover it. He only spoke the truth, and he saw the tears in Sakura's eyes as he said it.

"So, you are going to kill yourself?"

She asked ...as tears dripped down her face.

"I thought you had risen above everything that Danzo ...taught you."

Naruto's words were an accusation then.

"How could you ...why now?"

Sai would look at his friends both, and shake his head at Sakura. His first words would be for her, and then he would look pointingly at Naruto as he got up. He would wipe the blood from his lips even as he spoke.

"I will not take my own life ... it has already been decided. I will not die a dog's death. And, though I have broken ...away from what Danzou-sama has taught me ...there are some things, that I can never forget or abandon. This is one of them."

Tsunade-sama waited as she would speak then.

"Is this what you have decided? If you have any ..hesitation, or if you aren't completely sure ...we can give you more time. We can hide you..."

Sai would lock eyes with her then.

"I won't die a dog's death."

The words were spoken sharply. He knew she only wanted to help, but there was no more time for her to give. Even if there was, she couldn't give it to him anyway, and if he fought this. How many others would be hurt in the process, Roots are good at what they do, and this is what they do. They don't attack from the light, but the shadows. They took out those that got in their way, and if he didn't wish this...there was little he could do about this ...but accept it. Otherwise, others will die for nothing, and in the end, he would still die.

He wouldn't allow that. He knew it ...he needed to end it now. He needed to say his piece as he would turn and look at his friends. The first after his brother ...that he created bonds with.

"I will die bravely.

Thanks to you all...I know what it's like to want to protect. I understand bonds, and I have started to get my emotions back. I owe you so much. I even got to talk to my brother again ...I can never pay you back for everything you have done. I have learn so much ...grown so much. But, my time is over, it's okay to simply let me go ...it hurt more if you don't. You need to focus on Sasuke-kun now."

He turned to look at Tsunade-sama as well.

"Joining Team Seven was the best day of my life. ...the best thing in my life. I have no regrets. All of you, arigato."

Sai would spike a smoke bomb against the ground. And with those words, he would vanish from their lives ...now and forever more. Though he surrendered, it wasn't the same as giving up, and his friends hanging back ...didn't mean it was over.

(Chapter 2 - complete)


	3. Chapter 3

**Left Behind - **_Root Chronicles _

The mission is everything.

It is life and it is death.

And if the mission is to die, you are to die without question.

For you are nothing but the shadows.

And there is no honor in holding onto a life that has been voided.

~An excerpt from the Roots Manuel page# 25

Sai hadn't gone far. Why should he? If he went home ...they would find him, and if he ran, they would follow. Thus, he sat perch outside of the hokage's window ...sitting on the railing as he listen to the frenzy inside.

Sometimes, the best place to hide ...is in full view.

Naruto's voice would chime in first.

"Bullshit, we can't let that happen. What in the hell is he thinking?"

Sakura would pale at his words as Naruto would turn to leave. He would bark out commands to her.

"We have to go after him ...I will try his home ..and you ...try the training area."

Tsunade-sama would stop them before they got started.

"Stop, This isn't about Sai...I told you before, Roots operated differently from everything we taught at the academy. I just never thought ... so, the deaths of the Roots shinobi were more than just some incident. We are going to lose them all.

I didn't call you up here for this, just to confirm, because I still have a mission in mind."

Tsunade said it with an heavy heart. Sai wasn't the only one whom had come from the darkness since the death of Danzou-sama, and she remember the marriage request she had put off for later.

Her head would touch the desk.

She had begged her. The root shinobi had bow in front of her, and asked to be wed. And she had approved it of course, this was the first one to break completely ...to admit to feelings, to caring for others. She wanted a life, and Tsunade had saw nothing wrong with it. She had agreed, but everything went to hell before the date.

Was she even still alive to speed up the date?

The woman felt sick, but her eyes would come up with pure determination.

"I have a mission for Team Seven. I want you to find the one who is giving these orders, and bring that person to me. Get Sasuke, his probation is temporarily suspended. We won't lose another shinobi to this suicide command. I want this shinobi stopped, and brought before me."

"And if you can prevent Sai's death, you have my permission ...but do not do it at the cost of this mission. There is some odd 33 roots shinobi left, and I won't trade Sai's life for theirs."

She couldn't say the words that should have come afterwards.

He has already been told to die, and there may be little that can be done to stop it. They can change how he dies, but, not the result.

And she closed her eyes, and saw Sai's face. The determination and the heat, for one who had spent his life without emotion ...there was times when he used them that would sway anyone. Even her.

He wanted to die bravely ... who were they to take that from him?

"We are his friends."

Sakura would reply heatedly. A part of a conversation in which she caught only the tail end of it.

"We are his friends, and friends don't let friends follow such stupid commands. Roots is gone, and if we can stop the insane person giving these orders ...we damn well will. And if, he needs a order to live."

Naruto would finish for her.

"We will beat this punk into submission, and make him take it back."

The boy would smile as he pump his fist once in the air ...catching onto ...her train of thought.

Tsunade smiled. Only the young would come up with such a simple answer and as long as there is life ...there is hope. She just hope that this was the case.

"Then you got your orders ...go."

She would give the command, and the two would bow once before like the shinobi they were. Then they would race out of the door. It was a cluster of noise, and they were a mess, but Sai was a bit touched. It didn't work that way, but, they didn't know it ...nor will they ever. He couldn't get mad about their wish to save him.

It made a place in him feel warm.

"Sai."

The voice would shock him.

"You have your orders as well ...as a part of Team 7."

Tsunade would speak without turning around. She knew the boy was outside the entire time, as she would thread her hands together.

"You have 2 days to complete this."

Though it would only last for a moment, he had stuck around long enough to hear. He had two missions now, one that will be completed in 2 days, and another he would finish in the same amount of time. He would smile, but never reenter the room as he would reply back to her.

"Hai, Hokage."

Then he would push off of the window's railing.

"I am coming after you, Tiger."

He would declare as he dropped from the tall tower ...his inks in his hand as he would swipe his brush across the scroll as he would release it ...a hawk. The bird would race to catch him as it would sweep underneath him. He would land on it's back, and it would fly upwards with them both. The boy's hand would be gripped in a fist.

"I won't die a dog's death."

(chapter 3 - complete)


	4. Chapter 4

**Left Behind - **_Root Chronicles _

_Roots members do not feel_

_There are no emotions_

_So, there is no love, no hatred, and no need for revenge._

_Everything is simply the mission_

_Therefore, Roots do not have dreams._

_This is how we support the great tree of konoha_

_We make sure that those that stay in the light_

_Never know darkness_

_Even if it cost you your life_

_~An excerpt from the Roots Manuel page# 33_

He shouldn't have been happy. Time was running out, and he had left his friends anger at him. He should have been depress, upset, ...not happy. But, that wasn't how he felt ...as he put one hand over his heart. He closed his eyes as he let the emotion sweep through him. Still foreign, but he was handling them so much better now. He understood this one clearly, he had a purpose ...a final mission. One final thing to do before the end, and there was a satisfaction in it. That was how he felt, satisfied. He would serve his village one last time, the boy wouldn't land his hawk as he would send the bird outwards ...beyond the village walls. He whistle a single thrilling sound ...a signal that it was him to the gate keepers below. For they had learned to look up in the time he had spent out in the light.

A wave of hands ... to bid him forward, and assure him that they recognize him.

A final farewell.

He wouldn't cross that treshold again.

He signal for the bird to climb high. It wasn't like he didn't know where to go, because it was the one place he would go if he was in her shoes. Thus, he wasn't in the sort of rush he should have been as the bird would reach the apex of their climb and then start to circle lazily above the clouds. It was so peaceful and beautiful at this height, and the rush of fresh air help him to think. This wasn't going to be an easy assignment. He had to complete both missions in such a way that one didn't interfere with the other. Not too bad a task, except, he didn't know what the first mission would require. The second one ...he knew he could complete the moment he knew who issued these death commands. The kunai gleam darkly in his hand as he free it with a single thought ...afterall, he only needed to silence the one issuing that order. And if it was more than one, so be it, but if the other mission require that he go somewhere far away ...or that he gave those orders himself.

It would be problematic.

He sat on the bird then and rest his chin on his knees as he drew them up to him. So many problems, but, it was the unknown that created them all. The unknown that caused fear and doubt. The unknown that he was taught ...to ignore, to not fear, to not even recognize. He needed to become that Sai again ...otherwise, he would be swallowed up whole by everything that was happening. He would fail his missions, he could see that crystal clear.

Thus, he would release it ...in one deep breathe...everything he became when he joined Team 7.

There was no sense in stalling any longer as he touch the bird once between it's shoulder blades, and it would dip. Not enough to slide him off, but enough that the bird was doing a power dive towards the ground ...as it came sweeping up quickly to met him. Though there was no danger of smashing into the ground, like the animal the drawing imitated it would pull up enough to simply skim the top as it came to a stop gently at their old base. The one that had been abandon the day that the Commander had given over the reigns to Danzou-sama.

The day that everything had changed.

Memories flash as he looks around the place.

The bunker, the place where he slept with his brother. The flat plains area ...where they filed in a single line when summon. His training group, mostly boys except for tiger ...the one girl. He remember that that place was where ...him and his brother liked to rest. He shifted his view a bit and saw the place where he painted his pictures and even where he fought Ox and his crew with his brother. The medical bay came into view next ...he visited that place quite a few times, and the meal area where they ate. It only occurred to him then ..as he turn those memories over in his mind's eyes that he wasn't well liked. It hadn't matter to him then, but now that he understood emotions better. He could see the trouble that his indifferences got him into, because back then, he hadn't had enough feelings to care.

The realization jarred him a bit as reality settled over sentiment.

He blinked once, and he could see what really stood before him ...a place that had been neglected as the bunker house was falling in on itself. The grass had grown wild and long, so that it was impossible to tell where they had stood all those years ago in a line. The training ground ...the track itself was lost completely, and only a few dejected pieces of wood stood out where they had thrown targets. Time had done its best to destroy this place, and he should have let the past go. He already knew there was nothing for him there ...but it still stir in him despite the knowledge.

So he chose to ignore it.

He opened himself to the present. It was all that Roots had, and he would see it there. The Command center, it still looked like it was in use and in repair, and Sai didn't have to guess that Tiger was using it as her base of operations. Afterall, there was only two of them left from that time in Roots ...and with his agreement to simply die ...she had no fear of anyone else finding her here.

A snicker almost escape his lips ...he should have gotten the command first.

Then she truly would have been safe from her enemies.

Though, Roots were train not to feel, those that had step into the light ...no longer followed those teaching. That meant, some of those call to die, wouldn't do so graciously. There was little doubt, that the stronger of them ...would fight back, and if Tiger couldn't put them down on the first attempt ...there would be trouble. Sai had little doubt she was nothing more than the messenger. Though it was also no secret in the past, one of Danzou-sama most direct methods of intimidation was to have the head of the messenger deliver back to the sender if the message wasn't to his liking.

His subordinates would do no less.

She was wise to find a place where she could disappear.

A testament to her survival skills as Sai would dismiss the bird in a splatter of black ink and then head towards the tower. If she didn't know he was here, it wouldn't take long for her to figure it out, but as he cross the grasses he was disappointed in the emptiness. In fact, it took him literally rapping on the door to get her attention at all as ...she would appear in the doorway. Her dishevel appearances made it clear she hadn't had a fun time of this mission, but, her lack of protection of this place..made the old smile grace his lips.

It was the empty mocking one.

"Dog?"

She couldn't hide the surprise in her voice. He had given her too much credit. Her survival was dumb luck, and the fact that males always threw themselves at her feet to protect her. He should have let Hikaru-sensei slit her throat all those years ago when she tried to save Ox.

"What are you doing here?"

It was only at that statement that she realize her mistake and tries to cover it up with a sneer. She would look Sai up and down, but that couldn't give her back the first impression she had lost. A bit of drool at the corner of her mouth would disappear as she wipe quickly to try and erase any other traces of her failure. Though the bandages across her chest and arm ...couldn't simply be remove and hidden. She hadn't had time to disguise them when she came to the door, and the medication had dull her senses too much to care.

She had had a bad time of this mission.

Sai didn't let his assessment go any further as he spoke clearly ..detach and calm.

"Hai, I have gotten my affairs in order. I have come to find out how I am to die ..as well as to complete one final mission given to me by my Hokage."

This made the hackles on the back of the woman's neck stand. She could already guess his command. She reached for her tanto only to realize she left it behind as her hand grabs only empty air. A shaky move, one that was full of mistakes, and she knew her final one. Sai wasn't one that was known to allow for second chances, and thus, she steel herself for the end. It wasn't her death that she regretted, but the failure of her mission and who her executioner was. She gritted her teeth ...she could have been at ease with anyone but him as she relaxes her muscles ...as she drop her hand.

There was nothing else she could do.

"You are to meet with the group at the edge of Death Forest in two days time. From there you will be heading to the Hidden Cloud ...to intercept and kill a man known as Tai won Kai and allow yourself to be taken prisoner by his men. You need to find out then his connections and send all the information back to Main head quarters via your imitation technique for as long as you are are able."

Sai nods his head.

It truly was a suicide mission, for he understood the unspoken words. He would be fighting without using his personal jutsu in the assassination. They couldn't know how he utilize ink otherwise, he would be unable to get any messages out. Though that wasn't the half of it, because, he would also need to figure out a way to hide his own inks so that he could retrieve them later. Then, he would have to suffer their torture until his last breathe.

This didn't make his final mission from the Hokage easy, but, there was no conflict, and he still had time. It was acceptable.

"So, be done with it."

Her words would snap him back to the present. He almost drew his kunai at the thought, but stop as he reaches out a hand instead to touch the top of her head. A sign of comfort?

"I was told to ...stop the orders. You are not the one giving them, but you do know who is. Tell me."

Tiger's eyes widen a bit, and she stop for a moment to think of her own command. There was nothing that told her to keep the one who issue the order a secret, so she had no reason to not to tell. Though most, she realized never thought to ask either, and then she looked over at Sai. She owed him nothing, but, she saw the veil threat in his gesture ...the same one he had held over her so long ago, when he was called Dog. Though she understood this one better, this was to make sure he didn't fail his mission by threatening hers. She hated him instantly ...for this, as she did then, but she was un-train then. She wasn't now, and she knew there were things that were greater than her revenge...as her memory flash nastily to try and rebuke her.

Red dripping upon green, as Ox stood there gripping the area of his right eye ...blood oozing between his fingers into the grass. Everyone was silent, no one dared to say a word, even she. Though it wasn't because she hadn't wanted to ...as Dog ...press a kunai into her side to keep her from going to his aid. He had hated Ox, simply because he was so much better than him. Ox was strong, smart, and better at everything ...except for the one thing those stupid sensei were driving for. He wasn't some emotionless husk, and for that reason alone...the sensei fawn over Dog. But, still the stupid mutt was jealous. He was looking for someway to hurt them, that was why he tried to show out whenever possible. He would always make it a point to grin at their sensei with that sickening and un-natural grin they approve of to remind them of their failure. It would lead to punishment and scolding for them, and so in rebuttal to his behavior, they had tease, bully, and fought Dog because of it. Though no one ever dream of taking their rivalry as far as him.

She couldn't forget that day.

She had loved Ox, given him her true name. Though, Ox had made the mistake of calling her true name in front of their sensei. Their true name was a dead name, and only the dead went by it. Their sensei had recognized it, and was going to punish him for even knowing it. Though the woman hadn't been completely cruel, she had given her the chance to save him by simply admitting she had told him her name, and Dog ...he had stopped her. He had taken his revenge for their action in the cruelest of ways. He had prevent her from saying anything by pressing a kunai into her side, and made her watch as their sensei maim him for her folly. It was the lost of his eye that would later lead to his death on a mission.

She hated him.

She hated Dog with all of her being, but she is a member of Roots. Emotions were nothing, the mission came first. Besides, he would be tortured and maybe maim before his death. It was enough of a revenge ...even if she couldn't do it herself. She didn't need to give up anything more to him.

A sadistic smile spread over her face as she came back to reality.

It was over.

Thus, she told him.

"It's the one who wears the blue fox mask ...he is station at the out post base inside of the Death Forest. He is the one issuing out Danzou-sama's final will."

Sai nodded once to her, but he didn't leave just yet. His stance took on a aggressive pose as he removed his hand from her head. The comfort was over ...it would no longer be needed ...she read it only moments before she heard the sound of steel sliding free slowly.

"You will not deliver any more death messages."

That voice declare calmly ..without a spark of heat in it. The same cold voice she remembered in her darkest dreams and nightmares. This made the hackles rise again on Tiger's neck. Her eyes would snap up to look at his, and she saw it then. Those eyes ...those soul less eyes would alight on her as he twirl his tanto in his hand. He would make one step forward towards her, and she was too paralyzed by her own foolishness and fear to move away.

Only in that moment had she realized what she ...should have known when he told her the mission given by his Hokage. Her muscles would once more relax as she open her mouth to give out one last ...hysterical bubble of laughter.

She should have known better.

Their missions clashed as red would greet the green of the grass.

(Chapter 4 -complete)


	5. Chapter 5

**Left Behind - **_Root Chronicles_

The way of Root is life and death

If one wishes to leave this way

Then it is death that they will succumb to

There is no exception

Either you live in Root or die in Root

No one is left behind

~An excerpt from the Roots Manuel page# 22

Karin was right.

Sasuke would grip the bars to his cell tightly. The frustration and the anger was boiling over at this point ...as he tries to keep from making a sound and accidently restarting his torture. Uchiha had died here ...Sasuke had know that when he returned to the hidden leaf, so what had made him think this was a good place to revive his clan? There were some doors that once shut, could not be open again, and Sasuke was starting to feel that way about his coming home to Konoha as the two guards outside of his door started their quiet conversation again.

Pure torture, as the teen tries his best not to gag, and didn't try to hide his discomfort as he put his head against the bars with a resounding clang.

He never should have come back here.

"My beloved."

The first guard would declare to the other as she presses her chest against his. Their bodies quickly fitting like a glove as they embraced, and then he lean down slowly to kiss her on the forehead. His words would turn to gibberish quickly as one of his hands would slip beneath her shirt. He was literally starting to feel her up, and he wasn't alone as her hands would go to his pants. All of this within sight of the Uchiha who was quickly getting to his limit. He couldn't ...wouldn't take any more of this as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"GET a fucking room you two!"

His voice would echo through the makeshift prison, and up the long and winding stairway to the surface. Though a lot of the words would be lost, not the force, as Sakura and Naruto would open the door to the full blast of the yell. The two not understanding what was happening, but taking it that he was in trouble would nearly fly down the stairs in breakneck speed. It was only the sound of their charge that kept them from stumbling upon a scene that was permenent etch in the Uchiha's head.

"Naruto, Sakura ...thank god."

He would saw in a whisper as the two lovers sprung apart at the sight of the the two children. The two shinobi's heads would snap to their friend behind bars as they looked around afterwards for what had caused him to scream. Twin sweat drops would roll down the head of both guards as finally they would figure there was no danger as they lock eyes with Sasuke.

"Hmmm...what's wrong, Sasuke? Why did you scream?"

Naruto would ask as he kept looking for the threat, while Sakura would immediately go towards one of the guards to give them the hokage's instructions. Sasuke realizing that no only was he saved, but how embarrassing his own predictament was would be thinking frantically how to cover up his situation. He finally come upon a solution as Naruto continue to stare.

"You are being to loud. Shut up, Dobe."

That was all he decided upon as he broke the eye contact as Naruto went ballistic at the apparent snub. Things hadn't changed that much since they were children in one form, but ...as the bars stood behind him and his former team mate ...it was a constant reminder that ...the small changes though ...couldn't be overlooked. It would take about 15 minutes for everything to be explain, and for the entire story to be lay out clearly for everyone to hear.

"So, let them kill themselves."

Sasuke would chime in afterwards.

"If they were apart of Danzo's faction, then isn't it better if those worms were squash before they have chances to cause problems for the village."

His words would hang in the air as Sakura and Naruto looked at him in shock. Sasuke though didn't lower his eyes at their piercing glare or astonishment. Afterall, it made the most sense. IF these ninja acted however they wanted, whenever they wanted, then they would just become a problem in the future. This way, it would seem that bastard Danzo had done the village a favor ...by having them kill themselves off, it would ensure that the village is govern by the hokage and not by some splinter group that lurks in the shadows. It would also prevent any future uprising.

"Didn't you listen... Sai is one of them."

Sakura would declare when she finally got her voice.

"Maybe so, but if he choses to die ...what exactly are you going to do about it? Lock him up? Cut off his hands and legs? If he choose to die ...there is nothing to do about it, and, if that is your only reason for wanting to stop these ...deaths ...then let's not stop them at all."

He would declare to have Naruto glaring at him and Sakura looking away a bit ashamed. The time apart had changed them, had changed him, because, he no longer believed in protecting those that can't protect themselves. He didn't fight to save, he fought that was the problem ...he no longer had a reason. Maybe, that was why he was there to here to being with, to find one ...a reason. To find a place in the world as the last Uchiha, and at that moment, a voice would bring him back to reality of the shock faces and anger glances as he turns to look over his shoulder at the two lovers.

"They are also orders from the Hokage."

It would be the female guard that retorted heatedly.

"What other reason do you need than that ...it is her directive. It is her will for this to stop, and she should trump, Danzo-sama in these sort of things ...especially since he is gone."

Those words would snap everyone's eyes to her as the man would stand protectively behind her. He would drape his arms over her shoulders as he pulled her close. And she would look upwards into his eyes as he smiled and kiss the top of her head before she would look forward with a new resolve, and he would look at the boy ...their prisoner as the scum he was. Why the Hokage let him back into the village was beyond him, but he wasn't going to let the traitor be the voice of reason in this mess.

"Who the hell are you to decide such a thing?" "Not the Hokage, that is for damn sure."

He addressed Sasuke sharply.

"Have it ever occurred to you that this might turn into a violent war in the heart of Konoha, because, the Root members are no longer in the shadows. They have started to make connections and like your friends want to save their friend, I will kill whoever threatens my fiance. You aren't even talking about those ..who will not want to die because of some order. What do you think will happen?"

The woman answered for him.

"WE will fight, and in Root we aren't taught some moral code for battle either. We go after weak points, any weak points. That includes friends, family, and lovers, and I won't let anyone hurt him."

She would reach one arm to hook around the taller man's neck.

"And I don't plan to die."

Naruto and Sakura would look on as Sasuke thought about what she had said, and would only give a 'Tch' as a response to it. There wasn't much else he could do or say in heat of such emotion, and Naruto would grin devilishly as he declares to Sasuke.

"They tolda ya."

The boy would simply look to the side so that he wouldn't look at Naruto.

"Shut up, dobe."

Yup, somethings remain the same. It would also seem that to find out the needed information for their mission they didn't have to go far. The woman, a ex-member of Root had been apart of the information gathering division. That meant, she knew as much about the organization as some of the heads. Though she couldn't give them the exact location, ...she knew three locations where ex-members of the roots might be hiding out. Two of them were base commands that could allow the final will of the commander to be given out, and where those that had decide they weren't going to come out of the shadows were still operating. Not everyone had ...felt that the death of Danzo meant a death in his ways, and that was the problem they were facing today.

Sasuke would only shake his head as they left the ceil. His pardon for the moment temporary, but as he saw the two lovers waving at him...he couldn't help but thank every god that existence. A tremble went down his spine when he thought how quickly he almost had talked himself out of his freedom.

Though ...maybe, if he had stayed in the cell ...one of the Root members might have saved him from that torture as well.

"So, Sasuke ...what was you yelling about earlier?"

Sakura would asks as they were ascending the stairs back to the outside world. Sasuke would feel a slight heat in his face ..as he just snap back at her.

"Nothing ..it was nothing."

(Chapter 5 - complete)


	6. Chapter 6

**Left Behind - Root Chronicles  
**_The mission is everything in Root_  
_Everything else is irreverent_  
_Your past _  
_Your future_  
_You give everything for the mission_  
_You are nothing, but the mission_  
_Never question your mission_  
_Only the present_  
_Everything else is irreverent_  
**_ ~An excerpt from the Roots Manuel page# 43_ **

A flicker of metal in the moon light would act like a signal. The world of darkness would part as a shadow walk through it ...a shadow that defy all logic ...for it didn't shrink away from the light. Instead it step directly into it, as the boy looks upwards, and tried to make sense of what had happen ...what he had done. The moonlight above him seem to almost rebuke him as he let his shadow lengthen in the grass. There was a time, he would never step out into the light ..no matter the reason. There was a time, when the light was his enemy ...but his thinking had changed, and with that came the realization again.

"I wasted too much time."

The words spoken aloud seem to sound even more foreign than the thought to Sai. He was taught to be efficient ..one did not waste time. If one did, they died. So, how had this happen? How had it gotten so dark? His mind was struggling to comprehend it. How he had wasted so much time, that he really had wasted so much time, as he remembered his training, and wince internally. He had learned so much to contradict it. But, he had forgotten the reasons why those contradiction exist, it was some of his first lessons in Root, and he realize now how important they were. How could he forget it? That the world of the light, was different than the world of the night.

"Hiding them isn't enough ...I must kill them"

The voice he spoke with was so cold, so much like his former self, but Sai knew it was just an illusion. It was why it had taken him so long to leave the command center, it was why, he was traveling by night in the forest of death. He had ...at the last moment remember who he was trying to be, he had done the honorable thing, and that had cost him ...time. Time he did not have, as he sigh openly and thought back to the small heap of dirt he had left behind. The tombstone that would cast a ghostly light upon that field of long green grass. It was a marker that shouldn't exist, for someone, who doesn't exist. Yet, he had felt those feelings come upon him then. It had stray his hand, it had made him feel pity ...it made him think of the times to be, and what would happen afterwards.

Sai would step back into darkness ...as the moonlight would once more hit the forest floor uninterrupted.

Root had no past ...they had no future.

He couldn't afford to have feelings, not if he was to succeed in his mission. Sai would continue forward ...as the creatures in the forest of death would peer at him, but not make any moves towards him. They knew a predator when they saw one, they could sense the darkness that still existed, and only one who thought they were stronger would dare to impede his path. There was no creature stronger than him here, and thus, none that would dare to challenge him. They knew a monster when they saw one.

For the mission is everything, and everything ...is the mission.

He would never forget that ...as his feet would touch upon the stones that were hidden in the foliage. The path would start off with a single stone, then two's, three's until he walks on the stone path that lead to the headquarter's doors. The place ..hidden under one of the huge trees that made up this forest, was one of the first academy of Root ...the successor of Roots ...by Danzo-sama. When they moved to another location, it was turned into a command center of sorts. The only shinobi generally station here were those that never took missions ...the support staff.

The one with the blue mask would be here.

Sai felt a rush of hatred so strong that his hands shook. It lasted only for a second, as instinct seem to kick back in ...and everything would suddenly go numb. It was the trigger he suddenly realize, and he almost laughed at the thought. Danzo-sama had feared hatred so much ...and train so hard against it, that it must have instinctually become the trigger. He felt everything start to slip away ...he felt it as a wall appeared around him again, and he closed his eyes to relish it further. The loss of feelings were not painful, but yet, as the walls closed again he would feel a warmth at his back. In this place of nothingness something exist ...a feeling that he couldn't send out beyond the wall, and even if he could ...he would not.

"Brother."

The words left his lips before he could stop it.

Sai remembered then ...he had promised to always be with him. He had thought ...when he died his brother had broken that promise, he knew better now. They would take care of this bastard together, the one who delighted in their pain. The reason his brother had died, the reason so many shinobi had died. His body knowing from training to simply slip around the area of light without letting it touch him as he walked down the hallway.

If he was any bit of a shinobi ... he would know he was here.

Sai would slip out his tanto as he near the heart of the complex. Even now, that bastard would not get the punishment that he deserved. He who is always protected by someone ...by something...as Sai remembered the words of his mission. He was to capture the one responsible, and as he step into the control room ...he would see him rushing forward.

The Root medic-nin ...the man with the blue fox mask ...their rapist.

This man was the reason for so many deaths in Root.

Their blades would connect as the sparks would leap from their connection. Sai would shove his weapon lower as the man press his weight against him, this would draw him closer, as the man would sneer into his face. The sound audible behind his mask. This man could never be emotionless ...as he would lock his blade at his hilt and then thrust upwards and out. He would force them to separate as the man skids backwards a bit, and into a stray beam of light. Sai would get his first good look at the man in the blue fox mask, and what he analyzed would have made Danzo-sama roll in his grave.

He had grown round and fat with age.

No matter.

Sai would come forward again and press his attack further. Even as in his head ...he saw an overlap of what this man had once been, and he thought about what everyone had been so sure about Root.

Why would Danzo-sama waste his precious resources?

It takes years to bring up his shinobi and to simply let them die on a mission when they could be spared? It made no sense, but, he hadn't known ...they couldn't tell him. They have no emotions, fear ...was an emotion, dread was an emotion, and thus, they had decided among themselves ..to die in the field rather than let that blue mask bastard get ahold of them. If one couldn't return on their own, their choices were few, slit your own throat or bleed out. It had been this fear that had allowed the sickness to destroy his brother.

The man would seek to have his blade lock with Sai's again. It was in his mind, the only way to keep himself safe. If his blade was caught, if they were tangle, then he knew where Sai blade was and made sure it wasn't caught inside of him. But, Sai was a shinobi of the field, he knew this tactic well, and he knew the best way to survive it as he turned his shoulder for a moment. As he let his blade touch, but not catch as he struck outwards and forward. The move would put his blade though the man's shoulder while the man's attack would slice down his chest.

A sacrifice ...he was more than willing to make ...as he pulls it out slowly.

The man howling in pain.

Sai felt nothing.

It was his fault.  
They had hidden his brother's sickness until it was much too ...when he was finally discovered and taken to this man's care ...Sai had surrender himself to keep that bastard away from him. He could still feel those fingers ghosting along his skin, tracing a path that had been touched many times before. He would survive it.

His brother would not ...and yet, despite what he had done his brother died anyway.

This man ...his rapist, and the rapist of so many others.

The bane of Root.

The man with the blue fox mask.

This fat ..disgusting ...weak ...man ...had been the reason so many had died. Yet, once more he was protected as Sai would knock away the older man's tanto as he would slam his fist into his stomach. That would send him into the floor as the man would start to claw his way up. He should have known better, Sai put a quick stop to it, as he remind him of their differences. His tanto went through one ear. The man would stop any more movements ..as he cup his hands to the wound in pain. Sai didn't need to do anything more than unravel the scroll after that as his snakes would come out to secure him.

His first mission was over, and he prepared to use the same scroll to send the man back to the Hokage's doors. The man eyes locking on him as words came tumbling from his lips as Sai started to draw the creature that would drop him back off at the village. The noise though quickly became annoying. The emotions ...he had kept on the otherside of the wall wanted to be allowed back in, but he knew he couldn't. Otherwise, he would kill this man and fail his mission.

"Number 24?"

"What are you doing?"

"You are standing against the will of Danzo-sama?"

Sai tried to continue ignoring him. THE will of Danzo-sama wouldn't be so weak ...nor would he waste his precious resources the way this man did. He was under no impression that the orders now were real and only the fact that he knew his own would aid the village kept him from simply telling him this. He had tainted Danzo-sama's memory, such a fact, might make the man do something honorable ..like bite off his own tongue and take his life. The Hokage wanted him alive, and thus, Sai had another solution to his endless prattle.

He smiled at him, that empty ...emotionless smile.

The man would literally grow pale, but a spark of a resolve would still glint in his eyes. Silences would take the place of his noise as he simply glared at Sai. It didn't matter, he would be easily broken, because, this man was weak. It was then that he heard it ...they heard it. A noise in the darkness. The sound of footsteps. The man in the blue mask would look towards the sound's direction, and when he looked back again, Sai had vanish. His restraints were still in place as the man in the blue fox mask would feel fear clawing at him. He would struggle against his binding. If there was one that defied him, there would be more, and the blood running for his lost ear and pierce shoulder made him fear what they would do to him.

He couldn't run away and there was no one to protect him.

Then a voice would chase away all of his fears.

"I am hungry ...

This place is deserted ...

We are wasting time here.

Can't we go back home, now?"

Thwack!

The ones coming belong to the light. He sneer then, he was still safe.  
**  
(Chapter 6 - complete)**


End file.
